Conventional drive belts for mail sorting equipment being used by the mail sorting centers of the U.S. Postal Service are currently round in shape and have a circular cross-section. These round in shape drive belts are produced by means of heat-welding and grinding of a continuously extruded shape, or produced by the injection molding of a single piece by means of a circular injection mold.
There remains a need for a figure-eight shaped drive belt having a circular cross-section in order to facilitate the easy installation of the shaped drive belts within the pulley systems of the mail sorting equipment. Additionally, the figure-eight shaped drive belt will allow for a simpler and more economical construction of a runnerless or hot-runner or combination hot/cold injection mold. This figure-eight shaped drive belt will also provide for a shorter flow of the molten resin material during the filling injection process, resulting in a stronger and higher quality drive belt part. The figure-eight shaped drive belt will also provide for a reduced tooling size of the injection mold, as compared to the conventional round-shaped injection mold.